My very own BumbleBee - 2015 Mazda 3 SP25 GT EDIT: Sold!

This is a discussion on My very own BumbleBee - 2015 Mazda 3 SP25 GT EDIT: Sold! within Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by theMAG
A shout out to you on 2 fronts:
1. No stereotypical Honda Accord/Toyota Corolla
2. Mazda! ...

1. No stereotypical Honda Accord/Toyota Corolla
2. Mazda! One the most desirable and VFM marques, a rare combination in any period.

Congrats!

Thanks Mate. I did not even look at the Honda/Toyota saloons. They are incredibly generic looking now and are as exciting as watching a plant grow. No faulting their reliability though, a lot more than Mazda I would say.

Here is an excellent article I found explaining engine technology in new Mazda petrol engines. Apparently, the static compression ration of 14:1 (or 13:1 for the US market) is the highest in the world for a production car engine running on normal pump fuel.

Gone are the days to stereotype a Honda Accord. They were top selling in the US and are one of the top selling.

They were always one of the top selling cars in USA and it is still status quo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010

It makes more logical sense when what they offer as a package is unbeatable.

And the pre-owned honda come with 10 year warranty. I am just saying dont include accord as stereo typical. Its one of the best VFM car even nationals other than Indians or asians buy.

As a package they are unbeatable depending on what you want from your car. Trust me it is still stereotypical, especially if you are buying used. The first thing my friends asked me was "Why a new Mazda?" when you could have bought Honda/Toyota and better still that I should have bought used one.

The more I come to know about Mazda the more impressed I am. I used to switch off my Mazda 3's idle stop start system (it switches on everytime you start) because the system is incredibly sensitive (and it used to start bloody quick but I never noticed) and hence, I thought, a drain on the battery. Turns out, it is not.... very very clever system indeed.

"The i-Stop system, Mazda’s first start stop system, detects which piston is in the best position to restart quickest, which is the one in the combustion stroke phase, where air and fuel are in the cylinder, ready to be ignited. The mixture in this cylinder is ignited by the spark plug, forcing that piston down, and with partial-assistance from the starter motor, results in a near instantaneous engine restart time of 0.35 seconds"

The car has completed 500+ kms already. The engine and gearbox are getting smoother every km. The average fuel mileage so far has been 8.3 litre per 100 kms or approximately 12 kmpl. Not bad for a 2.5 litre 185 bhp engine with an automatic gearbox. Whats more impressive is that most of the mileage is within the city including lots of idling and short distance driving. Mazda says it is gonna improve as the kms pile on and will be best after approximately 10k kms.

An update and a few pictures to share. The car has done 2200 kms as of today. Went for a longish drive today 500kms + (great ocean drive). With a mix of highway plus twisty ocean lined road plus some very steep sections with A/C on, the car returned a respectable 16+ kmpl! Pretty good for a 2.5 litre petrol with an Automatic transmission won't you say.

In October 2015 I drove the Mazda 6 2015 model 2,500 miles (from San Francisco to Seattle (USA) and back) via a lot of meandering highways in Oregon and Washington states. It has the 2.5 liter engine described herein earlier.

My daughter bought the car after much research into alternatives, just as extreme torque has done. My impressions :

- The engine is startlingly powerful.
- The 6 speed auto box is very smooth and "manual" changes are instantaneous. Drives like a sports car.
- Some nice features, like keyless entry. You can keep the key in your pocket and never need to take it out. The handbrake disengages automatically when you put the car in gear (D or R) and press the accelerator (provided you are wearing seat-belt).
- A very useful feature is the vehicle proximity warning (I forget what exactly it is called). If you signal a left or right turn (to change lanes) and there is a car close to you on that side, a beep sounds. It also beeps when you are reversing out of a parking slot if there is a car or a pedestrian nearby.

For those who care, the car gave 34 mpg (US gallon) through the entire trip, equivalent to 14.3 KMPL.

Congratulations on the new beast. Seems like you got a great deal. After the endless discussions and buying a car that wasnt even on the list.

So you finally did the Ocean Road drive. Great pics man. Keep them coming.

Regards,

Thanks buddy! Yeah finally finally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benu9714

In October 2015 I drove the Mazda 6 2015 model 2,500 miles (from San Francisco to Seattle (USA) and back) via a lot of meandering highways in Oregon and Washington states. It has the 2.5 liter engine described herein earlier.

My daughter bought the car after much research into alternatives, just as extreme torque has done. My impressions :

- The engine is startlingly powerful.
- The 6 speed auto box is very smooth and "manual" changes are instantaneous. Drives like a sports car.
- Some nice features, like keyless entry. You can keep the key in your pocket and never need to take it out. The handbrake disengages automatically when you put the car in gear (D or R) and press the accelerator (provided you are wearing seat-belt).
- A very useful feature is the vehicle proximity warning (I forget what exactly it is called). If you signal a left or right turn (to change lanes) and there is a car close to you on that side, a beep sounds. It also beeps when you are reversing out of a parking slot if there is a car or a pedestrian nearby.

For those who care, the car gave 34 mpg (US gallon) through the entire trip, equivalent to 14.3 KMPL.

Overall, a very enjoyable car.

Thanks. The engine indeed is pretty quick and efficient at the same time. I did not take the technology pack which gives you blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and radar guided cruise control. Your car has all of these.

The car has completed 6.5k's as of today. The mileage has settled around 11-12 kmpl mark for city runs and 15-16 kmpl for highway runs. The A/C usage does not seem to effect the mileage as such.

Part of the reason why it has excellent highway efficiency is because of gearing. The car does around 1900 rpm in 6th gear at 100 kph on highway which is pretty relaxed for a petrol engine. The gearbox is intelligent in the sense that it will hold on to a gear if it senses you are going up hill or you are driving hard but overall it is tuned for efficiency and if you are driving normally then it tries to shift into higher gear as soon as possible.

This shifting into higher gear as soon as possible has it own little annoyance. Melbourne roads are not flat and the speed limit within the city roads is 60 kmph. So you are driving down at a constant 60 kmph and the gearbox will quickly shift into either 5th or 6th gear corresponding to pretty low rpms. The roads start to climb and at times the gearbox will not shift to a lower gear resulting in lugging of the engine. Good thing is that my car comes with paddle shifters so I can always override the gearbox and select a lower gear if I want to and that solves the issue.

The electric steering is perhaps the closest system to a proper hydraulic unit that I have come across in my driving. It is full of feel and is very direct but the negative is that it is heavier than other electric systems around. The handling is pretty well judged and I have not been able to make the tyres squeal even when taking some pretty sharp corners at speed. The ride on the other hand is pretty stiff, primarily owing to large 18inch wheels and low profile tyres. It is not uncomfortable but it lacks the compliance of the regular models that come with 16 inchers and higher profile tyres.

One of the major concern I have with the car is tyre noise at speeds on a typical corrugated Australian B-road. It is too loud but then again my friends with Lancers and Tiguan complain of the same thing so it is factor of both how the roads are constructed here and sound deadening effectiveness of the car.

All that said I would still buy the same car if I were in the market today with the same budget. The combination of looks, engine, driving pleasure, efficiency, standard equipment is hard to ignore at the price and it is Japanese and hence pretty darn reliable too.